Microsoft is mapping out a heavy investment plan to tap the Chinese market, a company executive said on Friday.

The investments will involve a huge amount of money and many areas including the infrastructure construction, a calling center and R&D investment, and expansion in China’s vast west, according to vice president and marketing strategy general manager Xie Enwei for Microsoft Greater China.

The sheer depth of funds means the plan is still subject to approval from Microsoft’s board members, Xie said, without giving details.

Foreign companies have not yet been allowed to run Cloud Computing data centers in China due to policy restrictions, but chances emerge as Chongqing establishes a “special management zone for international offshore cloud computing data”.

But Microsoft’s negotiations with the central megacity have yet to become something other than talk.